Sadie wedged herself into a narrow nook between intersecting ice walls, nearly impossible to spot in the dim light seeping through the overhead crack. Her platinum hair matched the ice-crusted stone she leaned against.

  She had blood leaking from her left shoulder where a pair of claws had torn through during our escape. She'd waved off my concern earlier with that neutral mask she wore, but the stiffness in how she held herself told a different story.

  "Stay put," I whispered. "We'll look ahead."

  She gave a single nod, her light eyes sweeping the area like she was mapping terrain. "Just scout it out. Don't fight unless you have to."

  Zo adjusted her grip on her axe, the blade catching what little light penetrated the ice chamber. "Ready when you are, Fish."

  I turned toward the narrowing passage ahead. The ice walls closed in on both sides, creating a winding channel that descended deeper into the crevice. The air grew colder as we moved forward, carrying a strange, musky scent that made the worms beneath my skin writhe with anticipation.

  "Smell that?" I whispered.

  Zo nodded. "Something big. Multiple somethings, maybe."

  We rounded a bend in the passage and the crevice opened wider, revealing a chamber of ice. Through the fog that hung in the air, I could make out two massive silhouettes; they were hunched, broad-shouldered forms that stood at least twelve feet tall. Their skin was a pale blue that almost matched the ice surrounding them.

  "Ice Trolls," Zo breathed, her voice barely audible. Her eyes had gone wide, but not with fear… with excitement.

  I studied the creatures, noting their thick limbs and the way frost seemed to form and disperse around them as they moved. "We should go back, get Sadie, find another way—"

  Zo's fingers closed around my wrist, squeezing once. She tilted her head toward the passage ahead of us, then back the way we'd come. , the gesture said.

  I frowned, watching as she dropped into a runner's stance, her body tight like a spring. Her axe hung loosely in one hand, blade angled toward the ground. She inhaled deeply, her chest expanding as she drew in air.

  Then she launched forward.

  I followed immediately, my legs pumping as I pushed myself to match her speed. The worms under my skin were reinforcing me, strengthening my muscles, hardening my bones. I ran full-out, faster than I'd ever moved before.

  And it still wasn't enough.

  Zo pulled ahead rapidly, the distance between us growing with each stride. Her movements were almost airborne, each footfall barely touching the ground before she was airborne again. The axe in her hand remained angled back, ready to swing up in a killing arc when she closed the distance.

  I watched her gap widen, feeling a strange mixture of awe and frustration. Whatever her Origin was doing, it made her move like nothing I'd ever seen before.

  The Ice Trolls took several seconds to recognize the threat bearing down on them. By the time they reacted, Zo was nearly upon them. Both creatures screamed—a sound like ice cracking on a frozen lake—and surged forward, their massive fists raised.

  Zo didn't slow down. She didn't hesitate. She charged straight toward them, seemingly unconcerned with the fact that either one could crush her with a single blow.

  The trolls closed the gap rapidly, their strides eating up the ground between them. I pushed harder, trying to catch up, but Zo remained far ahead, charging straight into what looked like a head-on collision with two mountains of muscle and ice.

  At the last instant, Zo dropped backward, her momentum carrying her into a slide across the frozen ground. She shot between the trolls' legs, twisting mid-slide and slowing her movement by driving her axe into the ice. The blade bit deep, stopping her just short of a jagged spike of ice that would have impaled her.

  One troll immediately pivoted toward her, its massive bulk blocking my view. I heard the sound of claw striking metal, a grunt of effort, and then Zo's voice, strained but defiant.

  I had no time to assess her condition. The second troll had turned its attention to me, its movements slightly slower than its companion. I sprinted toward an ice formation to my right, leaping up its slope. The worms strengthened my legs, propelling me higher than any normal jump could have reached.

  I launched myself from the top of the formation, my sword aimed at the troll's neck. It was a perfect strike, a killing blow.

  At the last moment, the troll shifted its torso, turning slightly to keep up with my movement. My blade struck its thick hide instead of the vulnerable joint I'd been aiming for.

  It didn't penetrate.

  I landed directly onto the troll's back, my sword scraping uselessly against its ice-crusted skin. The creature roared, the sound vibrating through its body and into mine. It bucked violently, throwing me sideways.

  I hit the cavern wall hard, the impact knocking the breath from my lungs. Pain exploded through my back and shoulders as I collapsed into a pile of frozen mud and ice chips. The world spun, as darkness blurred my vision.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  I rolled aside on pure instinct. A massive claw tore past my previous position, raking through the ice and mud. The force of the blow sent chunks of frozen debris flying in all directions. One struck my forehead, opening a cut that immediately began to bleed.

  I scrambled backward, trying to put distance between myself and the troll. My chest burned as I fought to draw breath, each gasping inhale bringing only a fraction of the air I needed. The troll advanced, its footsteps shaking the ground.

  Another swipe of its claws missed me by inches, but the force of the blow lifted me off the ground. I was hurled backward again, tumbling through the air before slamming into another section of the ice wall.

  I hit the ground hard, tasting blood. The world tilted and spun around me. Through blurred vision, I saw the troll approaching, its massive form silhouetted against the pale blue ice of the cavern.

  I twisted my body, forcing myself to my feet. The worms under my skin worked frantically, reinforcing my damaged ribs, stopping internal bleeding, pushing me past what my human form could endure. I raised my sword in a two-handed stance, the blade gleaming in the dim light.

  The troll charged straight at me. There was no subtlety to its attack, just raw, overwhelming force. It knew I couldn't match its strength, so it didn't bother with tactics.

  I centered myself, focusing on the training I'd received at the Front. The repetition. The patterns. The rhythm of combat that lived in muscle memory. The worms surged across my skin, forming an exoskeleton-like armor over my chest, arms, and legs. I felt my physical resilience increase, my speed sharpen.

  The troll was only a few feet away now, its claws raised for a killing blow. I studied its movement, the way its weight shifted as it ran. The timing was everything.

  Twin claws swept toward me from both sides, a pincer attack meant to crush me between them. There was no lateral escape, the claws would catch me if I dodged left or right.

  So I jumped forward, directly into the attack.

  The troll's claws passed behind me, colliding with each other where I had stood a heartbeat before. I was now inside its reach, beneath its massive arms, staring directly at its broad, pale blue chest.

  My body moved on pure muscle memory. The sword rose overhead, both hands gripping the hilt. I put my entire body into the downward slash, the worms adding their strength to my own.

  The blade found a joint where the troll's arm connected to its shoulder. It bit deep, slicing through the thinner hide protecting the connection. Blue blood sprayed across the ice and stone, steaming in the cold air.

  The troll's front limb fell away, severed completely by the force of my blow. It stumbled forward, thrown off balance by the sudden loss. Its remaining leg slipped in the mud and blood that now covered the ground.

  I stepped forward, never hesitating. The sword rose again and drove upward through the underside of the troll's jaw. The blade punched through the roof of its mouth and into its brain.

  The creature's massive body went rigid, then collapsed, its weight driving the blade deeper. I stepped back, letting the troll's own mass finish the job. It fell to the ground with a thunderous impact, blood pooling beneath it.

  I stood over the corpse, chest heaving. Pain radiated through my body from a dozen minor injuries. Blood trickled down my face from the cut on my forehead. But I was alive.

  I pulled my blade free from the troll's skull, it was slick with troll blood. I turned toward where I'd last seen Zo, expecting to find her still locked in combat with the other troll.

  Instead, I saw the second Ice Troll already dead on the ground. Its spine had been shattered, the vertebrae protruding from its back in a grotesque display of violence. I heard Zo's strained breathing from somewhere behind the corpse.

  "Zo?" I called out, stepping around the dead troll.

  "Stay back," her voice lacked its usual strength. "Just... give me a minute."

  I ignored her warning, moving forward to check on her condition. As I rounded the troll's body, I saw Zo standing with her back to me. Her shoulder was clearly wounded, blood soaking through what remained of her clothing. The fabric had been shredded, exposing pale skin marred by a deep gash.

  She must have heard my approach because she turned her head slightly, not enough to look at me directly. "I said stay back, Fish." The words came through gritted teeth.

  I stepped back, physical and emotional discomfort spiking simultaneously. "Are you hurt badly?"

  "I'll live." She didn't turn around. "Go get Sadie. I'll be ready to go by the time you get back."

  I stood frozen for a moment, unsure of how to respond. Part of me wanted to check her injuries, to help, but her posture and tone made it clear she didn't want that from me.

  "I'll be quick," I said, turning stiffly and heading back the way we'd come.

  My pace accelerated into near flight as I moved through the crevice. The worms reinforced my legs, pushing me faster, responding to my unspoken need to put distance between myself and the uncomfortable moment I'd just experienced.

  I found Sadie exactly where we'd left her, alert and ready. She rose smoothly as I approached.

  "The path is clear," I said. "Two Ice Trolls, both dead."

  She nodded once, her eyes scanning me for injuries.

  I touched the cut, finding it mostly closed already. "It's nothing. Zo took a hit to the shoulder, though."

  We made our way back through the crevice. When we reached the chamber where the trolls lay dead, Zo had improvised a covering from a section of the troll's hide, draping it over her shoulder and upper body. She looked at me with an expression I couldn't quite read, something between amusement and accusation.

  I chose to move past it. "it should be clear now," I said. "We should keep moving before anything else shows up."

  Zo nodded, then stepped closer to examine my injuries. "Head wounds bleed like crazy. You look worse than you are." She prodded at my ribs with a knuckle, making me wince. "Bruised, maybe cracked. But you'll live."

  "Thanks for the diagnosis," I muttered.

  "Don't mention it." Her grin returned, though it seemed forced.

  As we prepared to leave, I felt a strange power from the troll I'd killed. It was similar to what I'd experienced when consuming creatures for their essence, but different somehow.

  I focused on the sensation, probing it with my mind. I could sense something new forming, something tied to the slain troll.

  "What's wrong?" Sadie asked, noticing my stillness.

  "I'm not sure," I said. "I think... I think I got something from killing the troll."

  "Like what?" Zo asked.

  I closed my eyes, concentrating on the new presence in my mind. It felt cold, massive, and strangely obedient… like a trained animal waiting for commands.

  I reached for the presence, trying to understand what it was.

  The world tilted.

  Not the ground beneath my feet. Not the ice walls around me. Everything tilted inward, like reality had inverted and I was falling through myself.

  My vision blurred, the cavern and Zo's concerned face dissolving into streaks of color. Sound became muffled, and distant, as if I'd been submerged underwater. The cold air against my skin faded to nothing.

  I tried to speak, to tell them what was happening, but my mouth wouldn't respond. My body felt impossibly far away, like I was viewing it from the other end of a very long tunnel.

  The pulling intensified. Something deep inside me had hooked into my consciousness and was dragging me down, down, down into depths I hadn't known existed. My awareness compressed, folding in on itself repeatedly. The sensation was disorienting.

  I felt Mabel's presence somewhere in the chaos, she was silenced. Even she seemed to be caught off-guard by whatever was happening.

  The world around me, Sadie, Zo, the dead trolls, the ice cavern… all of it receded to a pinpoint.

  Then vanished entirely.